Georgia Civil Forfeiture

Georgia Legislators Must Reform the State’s Civil Forfeiture Laws

Civil forfeiture allows the police to seize your home, car, cash or other property upon the mere suspicion that it has been used or involved in criminal activity. Even worse, up to 100 percent of forfeited property goes to police and prosecutors’ budgets, creating perverse incentives for otherwise honorable police officers to seize cars, cash and property.

Innocent property owners like Paula Peterson have experienced firsthand the abuse that comes from the state’s forfeiture laws. Paula’s daughter drove her late father’s SUV to and from work from her home in Alma. The police later accused the daughter and her roommate of possessing drugs. Within hours of the arrest, the roommate admitted she was solely responsible for the drugs. But police still seized Paula and her husband’s SUV simply because it was parked outside of their daughter’s home and did not return it to Paula for almost five months, even though drugs were never found in the SUV.

Lawmakers are being urged to follow three principles to ensure that police pursue the neutral administration of justice rather than profit. First, a conviction should be required before final title to property is transferred to the state. Second, an innocent owner who is not suspected of any wrongdoing should quickly get back seized property. Finally, police and prosecutors’ offices should not profit from enforcing forfeiture laws.